Illinois is now the ninth state to ban trade in ivory and rhino horns, joining California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington. Banning ivory sales is disastrous for both Africa’s socioeconomic well-being and for elephant conservation.
These states are effectively depriving the people of Africa of their rightful income and allowing poverty to increase by forcing the poor to participate in poaching in order to survive.
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“A California based environmental NGO; the Ivory Education Institute (IEI), has pursued a landmark lawsuit against the USA’s State of California, challenging the constitutionality of a law banning all ivory trade in its jurisdiction.
Besides the State of California, the IEI’s case is being opposed by the Natural Resource Defense Council, the Centre for Biological Diversity, and the Humane Society of the United States, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. These are the some of the world’s biggest, richest, and most intrusive animal rights groups that continue to demand an unjustified end to any use of wild animals for economic benefit.
The IEI Managing Director, Godfrey Harris, is fiercely opposed to the State of California’s new law. He believes it prevents economically disadvantaged African elephant range states and their poor rural communities from benefiting from ivory sales in California – an important international market for antique and worked culturally important ivory pieces.”
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“One of the most disappointing things ever is for a person to make crude decisions that affect the greater populace,” said a Natural Resources Officer of Zimbabwe’s Hwange Rural District Council, Mr Nxolelani Ncube. “The issue of free trade of ivory should solely be the responsibility of the member states endowed with such resources.”
Mr Ncube said that he did not see any justification of any ban in ivory trade as Zimbabwe’s elephant populations the iconic Hwange National Park like those of Botswana’s Chobe National Park and South Africa’s Kruger National Park have long surpassed the carrying capacities of their ecosystems and this is having a detrimental effect on the environment.”
Read more here: US NGO files an unprecedented lawsuit against California’s law banning all ivory trade by Emmanuel Koro
The sale of rhino horn and ivory should be banned world wide. I am an African. Eco tourism creates far more jobs than hunting, which only profits a few already wealthy people and might supply people with meat for a few days, that they wouldn’t normally consider eating. Eco tourism on the other hand creates sustainable jobs, allowing people the dignity of buying their own food with the money they have earned in the tourism industry.
Dear Cheryl,
Your have had time to read all the snippets of the rhino horn trade. Your are not convinced. So you will NEVER be convinced…. So I won’t waste my time even trying. Ron Thomson.
Of all the blogs I have read like this one , I think that I enjoyed this blog the most.
Keep it up friend!